Family Pentatomidae

This page contains pictures and information about Golden Brown Shield Bugs that we found in
the Brisbane area, Queensland, Australia.

Female, body length 15mm

The adult and nymph Golden Brown Stink Bugs are brown yellow in colour
with brown dots and patterns. The adult is medium in size with the relatively
round disk shape body.

Males

Body length 15mm

We found most of those bugs were in golden brown background colour, but we
also found some that are pale brown in colour.

Females

We sometimes found this bug in Karawatha Forest on different type of gum tree trunks
during mid summer.

Maternal care in Stink Bug

On summer Jan 2004, we found this bug guarding her young on a gum leaf. The gum tree was in a
suburban house front yard.

Protection of eggs is quite common in the insect
order, especially in this
Pentatomidae family. Some stink bug species exhibit maternal care by
standing guard over their egg batches. This Golden Brown Stink Bug is a good
example. The mother bug guard not only the eggs, but also the 1st instars
until they become 2nd instars.

When bugs just hatched. They stay around their eggs cases. The1st instars
nymph bugs do not suck plant sap when they first emerge. They feed on bacteria
which the female deposited on the eggs when she laid them. The bugs have to liquefy
the food with saliva first before they can feed on it.

Adult body length 15mm, 1st instars body length 3mm

We saw this stink bug mother with her new hatched babies on a gum tree
leaf. When we get near to have a closer look, the mother bug always tilt her
body towards us blocking our vision to her babies. No matter how we disturbed
her, she just stayed on top of her young bugs and did not move a bit.

2nd instars

We cut the leaf and brought them home to see what will happen next. Two days
later, the young bugs molted and become 2nd instars. Those small bugs then
walked away from their mother. The mother finish her duty as the bug mother.

4th instars

Those nymphs were found near the adult Golden Brown Shield Bug and we believe
they were the Golden Brown Shield Bug nymph.

5th instars

The 5th instars is the last instars stage. They will became adults very
soon. They are now look very similar to the adults except the wings are yet
fully development.

See us in our Home page. Download large pictures in our
Wallpaper
web page. Give us comments in our Guest
Book, or send email
to us. A great way to support
us is to buy the CD from us.
Last updated: August 06, 2010.